Drama,
two nights in a row in
the preseason? Maybe the
NHL has an idea with the
back to back rival match
ups in the silly season.

For
the second straight
night, Alberta's rivals
settled in for a sloppy
but entertaining hockey
game, once again ending
with a one goal margin.

Just
like last night in
Calgary, a strong third
period by the homeside
was the difference in
the Oilers' 4-3 victory
on Monday evening.

The
game, like its
predecessors this month,
may have helped to solidify
the jobs of some
players, while casting
doubt on others.

Goaltending:

Levente
Szuper -
Szuper was shaky early,
fighting the puck a bit
in the Flames net before
settling down while the
Flames were shorthanded.
Overall the Hungarian
stopper turned aside 13
of 15 shots through one
and a half periods.

Jamie
McLennan - No clear
goat horns in this one,
but McLennan let in the
same number of goals (2)
with just over half the work
(8 shots), in a training
camp battle that is
likely the least
glamorous. The job is
likely destined to go to
McLennan but neither
back up seems willing to
claim the prize.

Forwards:

The
club's top two lines are
falling into forms with
many of the key forwards
starting to take a
larger role of the
offensive responsibility
and ice time. Jarome
Iginla and Craig Conroy
led the way in ice time
with 19:35 and 18:22
respectively. Marc
Savard trailed with
17:03.

Jarome
Iginla - Scored his
second goal in as many
nights, had four shots
on goal and a fist fight
with Eric Brewer to cap
the night
off.

Marc
Savard - Maybe a
better way to critique
the performance of Marc
Savard is to look
closely at the games in
which he doesn't stand
out. Trust me ... that's
a good thing. Savard
logged over ten minutes
of five on five action
on the night but
finished with an even
plus minus. He set up
rookie Chuck Kobasew's
first period goal, but
was on the ice for Jiri
Dopita's game winner.
Overall a fair
performance.

Chuck
Kobasew - Another
typical Kobasew game,
his third in a row in
the preseason after a
fairly slow start.
Kobasew, as has been the
norm, was fairly
invisible on the night
with only one first
period shot, but
typically the shot
counted. He and his
linemates, Marc Savard
and Martin Gelinas
continue to click
suggesting a possible
second line that can
produce in Calgary this
winter.

Jamie
Wright/Mattias
Johansson/Chris Clark -
The Flames auditioned a
possible third line for
the season, and had the
trio track the Oilers
most potent line of the
night, Jason Chimera,
Dan Cleary and Brian
Swanson. They opened to
mixed reviews. The
Oilers line combined for
six points, but did
surrender a goal as
Chris Clark made it
close late. If the
Flames can ice a third
line that can shut down
the opposition, a lot of
pressure will be removed
from the top two units.

Blair
Betts - another
quiet but steady night
from the "under the
radar" rookie.
Betts was -1 on the
night, as he was on the
ice for Dan Cleary's
third period goal, but
had another great night
on the dot, winning 70%
of his draws. Can Betts
make the team on face
off proficiency alone,
or will he get snagged
by his waiver
ineligibility?

Defencemen:

With
the third last game of
the preseason on tap,
the Flames chose to give
workhorses Denis
Gauthier and Derek
Morris the night off. As
a result the coaching
staff pushed rookie
Jordan Leopold very hard
again, giving the
college standout over 20
minutes of ice time for
the second time in the
preseason.

Jordan
Leopold - If Leopold
is going to hang
himself, the Flames are
providing all the rope
he'll ever need sending
him over the boards to
man the powerplay, play
a regular shift and kill
penalties. They say that
if you direct the puck
on net good things can
happen, a mandate that
Leopold appeared to
adopt on the night
sending five pucks Tomi
Salo's way. He finished
the night -1, but was
also on the ice for
Iginla's powerplay goal.
Looks like he'll make
the team.

Petr
Buzek - Buzek and
defence partner Toni
Lydman carried the mail
for the Flames, both
playing over 23 minutes
and owning the bragging
rights as the squad's
only two plus players on
the night. Like Leopold,
the Flames seem to be
pushing Buzek as far as
he can be pushed to see
what role he can play in
Calgary this season. So
far ... he's answered
the call. He still needs
to cut down on his
mistakes and work on his
consistency, but should
their be an injury or
two to the Calgary
blueline, it looks like
Buzek can take on a
larger role.

Micki
Dupont - with Steve
Montador dispatched to the
farm the seventh
defenceman role has come
down to Leopold vs.
Micki Dupont. Based on
this night, Dupont could
be on the next plane
east. He finished -2 on
the night, finding
himself on the ice for
both key Edmonton third
period goals.